Thorns
by Vampasaurus
Summary: It's been a year since the Cullens and their friends stood up to the Volturi. With Nessie growing so quickly and the townsfolk starting to get suspicious, they've made the decision to move. Little do they know a newborn army is slowly growing near their new hometown. Twilight and Canon Characters owned by Stephenie Meyer
1. Chapter 1: Emmett

**Emmett**

I looked around the clearing, taking in everything that happened here last year. I was so ready to take on the Volturi; to finally wipe them out. Though, even I knew that we'd never win that fight. At least not without losing too many on our side… without the risk of losing Rosalie. I glanced behind me. I wasn't sure if Rosalie would like me being here. She did her best to forget about this day. I looked back again, as if expecting someone to be there. Everyone was home packing. At the rate Nessie's growing I think even waiting this long was pushing it.

I took off after a herd of deer, quickly taking a large buck down and draining him quickly. I didn't really need to hunt; I just wanted to get out of the house. Rosalie was driving me crazy organizing everything. I shuttered thinking about the look she gave me when I threw all of my clothes into one of the boxes. Without anything else to distract me, I went back to the house. When I got there I noticed the cars were almost all packed. It seems I had stalled long enough. "Emmett!" from Rosalie's exclamation, it would seem that I stalled for too long.

I ran into the house and quickly took the boxes from her. "Where to?"

I caught her glare for a moment before quickly looking away, pretending nothing was wrong. "Your Jeep. It's the only car not packed."

I flashed an innocent grin and quickly walked out to my jeep. I heard Jasper chuckling as I loaded everything into the Jeep. I turned to see Rosalie walking out to me. "Is that all?"

She walked up, as if she hadn't heard me, and smacked my chest. "You're so bad." Grinning, she placed a quick kiss on my lips. I wanted more, but if we started who knows when we'd stop. All the time spent packing and planning really took away from some much needed alone time.

"But you love me." I grinned as I kissed her once, growling lowly. "Let's just get this drive over." The 24 hours to Brandon, Manitoba was going to be torture, but I understood wanting to get it done as soon as possible. Edward, Bella, and Nessie would probably stop half way through the trip, but Esme wanted the rest of us to get there as soon as possible to have everything set up for them.

Rosalie grinned and ran her fingers down my chest. I growled louder. "And you think I'm bad?" I picked her up and kissed her, feeling her legs wrap around my waist. This only lasted for about a minute before Esme walked over, clearing her throat loudly. I reluctantly pulled away and set Rosalie down. "Alright, we're leaving. Let's go." I smacked Rosalie's ass as she turned to her car, quickly jumping into the driver's seat of the jeep. The whole jeep shook. "Shit." I froze for a second, waiting to hear the sound of something snap or break. Luckily the jeep stayed intact.

I watched as everyone got into their cars, then pulled out of the driveway and sped off into the night. I wasn't going to beat them – especially not Rosalie – but a head start wouldn't hurt. Besides, I was in a hurry to start our new lives.


	2. Chapter 2: Rosalie

**Rosalie**

Leaving in the middle of the night wasn't new for us, and this time it was especially important that we make a quiet escape. We couldn't risk anyone seeing Nessie, who now looked more like a ten year old than an infant. Carlisle had made arrangements with the hospital, of course, but our leaving was still a hot topic and people would surely stop us to say goodbye if they knew we were leaving so soon.

I watched Emmett peel out of the driveway and speed off down the road, his radio blaring some sort of rap music with a deep bass. Subtly wasn't his forte and he'd surely wake everyone whose house we passed by on the way out of town, but we'd be long gone before they had time to alert the rumor mill - that is, if he knew where we were headed. I'd be surprised if half of them could make it to our new house without stopping to call me for directions. I felt like I was the only one who had done any sort of research about the place or had the forethought enough to plot out the most efficient route to get there. Oh well, I'd pass them soon enough and they could follow me...if they could keep up.

I got into my car and let the roof back. We'd be driving through a few patches of sun according to the forecast, but since it would still be night for another 5 or so hours, I decided to use the lack of sun to have at least a little bit of wind in my hair this trip. I cranked the car and headed off down the road with a sigh. I'd miss this place, I guess, but not that much. I wished where we were going was better, but it wasn't. Another sunless, depressing area of the world. It shocked me that there were people who actually lived in these places willingly.

I spotted Emmett's taillights ahead of me on Highway 101 and by the time I merged onto Interstate 90, there was no sign of any of my family's vehicles. It wasn't that I disliked driving in a pack with my family, but rather that I disliked driving so slowly. After a few hours with the pedal to the metal, I was running low on gas, and the sun would be coming up soon on top of that. I decided to refuel in Ellensburg and put the roof back up.

I took the opportunity to check in on Emmett and remind him that he'd have to stop for gas soon, too. I was sure he wouldn't have heard the gas alarm go off over his music. According to him, he wasn't that far behind me, and he was keeping pace with the others, so I knew that I he would at least be going in the right direction. Carlisle would know where he was going, or at least have Esme navigating from the passenger's seat, so I didn't feel so bad for not waiting on them. They could make their own way. I smiled and rubbed the steering wheel of my car lovingly as I set off again down the road.

Another several hours passed again without incident. It wasn't a very exciting trip. There were only a few cars scattered here and there in the early morning hours, and the mounds of snow that were growing larger with each passing town probably didn't encourage much traffic. It was the weekend, so I assumed people that didn't have to get out would rather just stay home and cozy in front of the fireplace. The thought of relaxing with a good book in a comfy chair was almost driving me insane and I inwardly hated all of the people who weren't out and about right now. I just wanted to get to the new house as soon as possible, if not only for the comfort of being at home, but so I could pick out the best bedroom before all of the others got there.

After another hour or so, I pressed my bluetooth into my ear and called Edward. I wanted to check on Nessie and see if they were stopping soon. I wished they would have let me take her in my car so I'd know when she needed to stop and rest, but they said since her car seat was already in Bella's car, they'd just let her ride there. I wouldn't have minded switching it to my car since it would have taken only a few seconds to do so, but by the time I offered, they already had her buckled in. Personally, I think it had to do with Bella being stupid and selfish, but I didn't mention that in front of Nessie.

"We're stopping in a few miles to let her rest," Edward assured me without even bothering with a greeting.

"Yeah, but does she want me to come back and stay with her? I'm only a few hundred miles ahead of you. I could be there in no time."

"No. Just keep going. We'll be there as soon as we can. Get her room set up if you have to do something," he replied with a tone of annoyance in his voice.

"Fine," I said and clicked the phone off.

He didn't want me there, or else Bella had told him to tell me to stay away. It's like she thought I was a bad influence on Nessie or something. Really, was the one who's too young to be a mother. I've been wishing for a hundred years for a baby, but she got one in just nineteen years! It's so unfair, and on top of that, she acts like I'm a menace to her parenting. I pressed on the gas pedal in frustration, trying to coax more speed out of my car, but I was already going well over 130 and the traffic was beginning to pick up. I laid on my horn and weaved the rest of my way through Canada to our new lives.


	3. Chapter 3: Emmett

**Emmett**

After a few last minute wrong turns I finally made it to the house. Everyone was already here, slowly unpacking. I stood up to get a good look at the house, one foot still on the pedal and the other leg folded back on the seat, my knee holding the steering wheel steady. "The place looks great!" Apparently Carlisle, Esme, and Edward had lived here years ago, but I had never been to this place. Just another thing I loved about being a vampire; getting to move around and live in different places.

I sat down and parked behind Rosalie's car. I jumped out and landed beside her car ready to help her, but her car was empty. It was then I realized she was probably already setting up our room. No doubt she got here first and already picked out the best room. I grinned just thinking about breaking that room in as I grabbed the boxes out of the Jeep and trudged through the snow to the house.

Once inside I took my time going upstairs. I could hear Rosalie in the room at the end of the hall, but I still took the chance to look into each room. Alice and Jasper were carefully setting up their room. Jasper barely acknowledged me as he organized his books. Alice, however, seemed to be in a different universe, flitting from suitcase to closet, carefully placing each outfit in what was apparently the perfect spot. I set the boxes down and watched for a few minutes, amused by her precise nature and fairy-like movements. Jasper finally looked up again, glancing from me to Alice. He grinned and shook his head "You know Rosalie's doing the same."

I nodded, chuckling. Picking up the boxes I made my way to my new room. I dropped the boxes in the corner, flinching when I heard something crack. Quickly I turned to look at Rosalie. I stopped when I saw her human memories organized on the dresser put me a little at ease – whatever broke wasn't something that important… but it was still most likely something pretty and something she didn't want broken.

Before I could form another thought, I heard Rosalie frantically opening the boxes. She pulled out the picture of our second (or third…) wedding; the glass and frame were broken. I relaxed, but Rosalie didn't. She squealed then yelled "Emmett, you need to be more careful!" I took a step back; she sounded like she wanted to rip my head off.

"The—the picture's fine…" I knew that frame wasn't special and the picture was fine. We broke picture frames all the time; knocking them off the nightstand as we fucked. This fact didn't seem to matter.

She set the picture down and came at me, fuming. "You leave me to pack and then don't even have the decency to take care of our things!"

I took another step back, hitting the door. Suddenly I understood. "Edward wouldn't let you stay with them and Nessie." My blunt statement made her freeze for about 5 seconds.

She squealed again, but I could tell she wasn't pissed at me, so I just stood and watched. She paced as she spoke, "I can't believe them! Why wouldn't they want me there? Before we left Nessie asked if I could stay with her, but they don't want to believe that she would actually want to spend time with me. I bet Bella made Edward tell me to keep going!" She froze again, then turned towards me, eyes wide. "I bet they let that dog visit her! That's why they didn't want me there; they knew I wouldn't like it. Of course I wouldn't like it, he's dangerous! He shouldn't be near her."

She paused to take a breath and I grabbed her, pulling her into a hug. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there, holding her tight. It seemed to work, so after a minute I let her go.

Without a word she kneeled back down in front of the box and looked at the picture. Finally she looked back at me, a small smile spread across her face. "You know I'd never give you anything that couldn't survive a six foot drop." She glanced down at the picture, then back to me. "I didn't like that frame anyway."

I chuckled and leaned down, kissing the top of her head. "Alice was almost halfway done with her closet; if you stall any longer she'll be in here helping you." I stood back up, grinning. Rosalie and Alice got along very well – they were like long lost sisters… but they have very different views when it comes to organizing a closet.


	4. Chapter 4: Rosalie

**Rosalie**

Emmett was right. Alice was quite the taker-over when it came to closet organization. I had picked out mine and Emmett's room when I first got here, but had then taken the time to set up Nessie's room just in case they decided to drive through the night to get here. I wanted to try to make this transition as easy for that poor baby as I could. Edward and Bella seemed more interested in keeping me out of the loop than they did about what was actually best for Nessie.

"She comes in, you're distracting her," I said, nodding toward Alice and Jasper's room.

Normally, I wouldn't mind hanging out with Alice, but even she should realize that now's not a good time. Everyone should know by now that Emmett would want to "break in" our new bedroom as soon as possible. Hell, we'd probably "break in" just about every room by the end of the week. I quickly organized things as best I could given the time constraints and just as I finished, as if on cue, Alice bounced into the room.

"Need some help arranging your pretties?" she said, making herself at home in the large walk-in closet.

"By all means, make yourself at home," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "And by that, I mean get out. It's nothing personal, except, yes, it is." I moved over to her and started herding her out of the room. She ignored me, as I expected.

"Really, Rosalie?" she asked, tutting and holding up a silky gray tank and a chunky sweater from last year's Prada collection. "These are _so_ not closet buddies!"

Alice was the type of person who liked to give inanimate objects personalities. Sometimes it came off as cute, but most of the time I couldn't keep up with which throw pillow we were mad at and which one had it's feelings hurt because Emmett's bare ass ended up on it during one of our impromptu living room rendezvous.

"Alice," I began, looking at Emmett for help. He didn't like to get in the middle of things, especially between two of the females of the household. As big as he was, and although he'd never admit it, he was downright afraid of us, especially in a combo. He was busying himself with a box of his magazines and trinkets and wouldn't catch my gaze.

I set my jaw and continued. "Sweetie," I said, bending down to whisper to Alice conspiratorially. "Emmett and I were in the middle of a discussion. About feelings and stuff, you know?"

I figured this approach was best. If things turned out like I hoped, Alice would want to leave to let us continue talking because she was really into that romantic emotional stuff and wouldn't want to interfere. On the other hand, if her OCD was in fine form today and she just _had_ to stay to organize the closet, Emmett would perk up and defend himself. He wouldn't want anyone to think that he was going soft talking about his feelings. He'd get involved in the conversation enough to distract Alice and make her forget about putting my clothes where I didn't want them.

Luckily, it was the first option. "Oh," Alice said, her eyes growing wide and looking between me and Emmett. She whispered as best she could in her excited tone, "Do you want me to send Jasper around to make things go smoother?"

I couldn't help but smile at little at my own cleverness. "No, I think we'll be okay," I said, walking her to the door and closing it before she could get another word in.

I took a deep breath and started back over to my closet. After a couple of steps, there was a meek little knock on the door. I turned on my heel and growled sharply. I quickly made my way to the door and opened it. Alice was still standing just where I left her, the two blouses clutched in her hands.

"Forgot something!" she announced, and bounded back over to the closet. Oh no. The OCD was winning out after all.

"Alice!" I matched her tonal intensity. "Get out!" I grabbed the clothes and threw them on the bed.

"But-" she began, reaching for the sweater.

"No." I shoved her out the door and slammed it. I turned to Emmett, annoyed. "I need to hunt. And if Nessie does show up tonight, you do, too. I don't want you hanging around on an empty stomach."

I waited until I heard Alice sulk down the hall and close the door to her room before I dared to head into the hall. I knew Emmett would follow me, so I didn't bother to wait. He could catch up. I walked outside and crossed my arms. I wasn't sure if it was possible, but it felt colder here than it did in Forks. I sighed and looked out at the woods. Maybe it was because of the snow piled up or the fact that it looked like another blizzard was moving in, but I felt like I should be shivering. Of course, temperature meant next to nothing to me now that I was a vampire, but sometimes I still had those human instincts kick in. I took a step toward the woods just as a huge gust of wind picked up. I squinted my eyes against the barrage of snow and shook my head. The trees moaned and creaked in the storm and I began to wonder what sort of prey would even live in these woods. As I took another step, the wind began to whistle it was so intense, and that's when the smell hit me – hard.


	5. Chapter 5: Chuck

**Chuck**

I sat on the broken couch just listening to the noise rising from the cellar. Perhaps I should be happy about this. The noise meant my army was getting bigger… but that didn't change the fact that the noise was getting annoying. I had yelled at them a few times earlier, but all that did was start a few fights and get a few of my newborns killed. The last head count tallied to 20. It was starting to get difficult keeping them full and happy. I turned around at the sound of a crash. Two nude figures had smashed through the bathroom door, their bodies intertwined in a way that made me turn away. Alright, it was only difficult keeping 18 happy. Boone and Penny were pretty good at keeping themselves entertained.

I left the room to let them finish, pausing only to look at my reflection in the mirror. I couldn't help but smile, thinking about back when I thought I wouldn't have a reflection. There were a lot of things about vampires that I had to relearn. I have a reflection, I don't sleep in coffins.. well, I don't sleep at all. Not burning up in the sun was the most important; but also the one I haven't told any of my newborns. So far none have experimented and it's been working to keep them in the cellar, so I'll continue lying to them until we're ready to move.

I turned when I heard Penny and Boone slow down. I got distracted and never actually got out of the room. "Quit it, you two. Go control the guys down stairs."

I heard a smack and Penny jumped up. She was pretty average height, but quite skinny. Her black hair framed her face and almost made her red eyes stand out that much more.

Boone stood up shortly after, rubbing his cheek where she obviously slapped him. He was maybe 5'10", brown shaggy hair, bright red eyes, average build… and insane. If I had known he'd turn out like this when I turned him, I might not have. However, after dealing with him for the last 6 months I don't think I'd get rid of him. His eyes darted around the room, taking everything in. _Everything._ Before I could say something he was running down the stairs. There was a commotion and then silence. After a few seconds, Boone emerged with a handful of fingers.

"Fuck, Boone! Put those back!" He turned and was gone for a few minutes. I glanced at Penny whose eyes had been following Boone this whole time. She grinned when we heard a shriek and silence once again.

Boone returned with the fingers still in one hand, but now a head in the other. "He don't need them anymore."

I growled, annoyed, while Penny laughed. "Boone, give me!" She snatched the head and placed her palm over the face. We heard a fizzing sound that ended when Penny dropped the head. The face had a charred handprint across it. Penny terrified me sometimes.

Boone grabbed the head again and threw it in the fireplace with the fingers. With a match he quickly lit a fire and just watched everything burn.

I had enough of this madness for now. "I'll be back. I'll get something for the mess downstairs."

Quickly I darted out of the house. I didn't have any intention of bringing back a human for them. If I ran across one, I might, but I really was just looking for something to do. I didn't realize creating this army would be this difficult. I just wanted to take over a city somewhere like the Volturi. The vampire that turned me told me all about them. They seemed to own some European city, so I wanted my own city. What else are Vampires supposed to do?

I slowed down when I smelled something. More vampires? Is there another army coming? I crept closer to a house, listening to people talking. The smell was a little off, but definitely vampire. I didn't need any competition, but I couldn't do something about this now until I knew how many there were. I jumped up into a tree to watch. I couldn't see much and had trouble hearing them from this distance. I was about to give up when I heard someone coming. I could see a girl headed my way. Quickly I jumped down and took off. It was then that I noticed other tracks around. I glanced back to make sure I was far enough away before yelling "Boone, get back to the house!" His laugh seemed to echo as he ran past me. Insane and fast; a deadly combination. Luckily he's on my side (I think).

When I returned to the house I jumped onto the roof, watching. I wasn't sure if they would come looking, but I wanted to be ready.


	6. Chapter 6: Rosalie

**Rosalie**

As I tried to wrap my mind around what I was smelling - a mixture of dried blood, moth balls, and something else that was vaguely familiar - the wind shifted again and took with it the scent. I took a step toward the woods, as if they somehow held the answer to all my questions, but when I did, my foot landed in a deep hole under the snow. Before I knew it, I was up to my waist in cold, wet slush.

I let out a squeal of anger and pulled myself free. My skirt was leather and now it was utterly and completely ruined. It was new and expensive and it was insanely beautiful, or at least it was. I could have cried. I checked out my feet and scowled when my shoes looked more like soggy rags than the cute Jimmy Choo flats that existed mere moments ago. I took them off and threw them into the woods.

"There. Is that what you wanted?" I shouted in vain at the trees.

I had started back toward the porch when a burning erupted in my throat. Even though what I'd smelled was definitely stale blood, it was still human, and I hadn't hunted in quite some time, what with the packing and trying to trick Emmett into packing, so anything could have set me off, right? I was going to have to go back out there and hunt, but it was clear my normal clothes were not going to cut it. I rubbed my throat and swallowed. Something about this smelled all too familiar, but not recent. It almost smelled like how it smelled to be a newborn. I didn't remember much about my time as one, except for the sweet revenge-driven parts, but my senses were triggering something inside of me and I didn't like. I glanced at the woods once more before heading back into the house.

I made a beeline for mine and Emmett's room and slammed the door shut behind me. "I hate this place already!" I shouted, and Emmett jumped.

He had apparently found a magazine he thought was interesting and was sitting on the floor browsing through it. The rest of his things were still in the box, but that didn't surprise me.

"Sorry, babe," he said, standing up and tossing the magazine on the bed before coming over to hug me.

Whenever he didn't know what to say, he'd just hug me. I wasn't complaining - I enjoyed him holding me, but he would do the same thing to get out of trouble or to calm me down and he thought he was really great at the whole comforting thing. It did calm me down, but sometimes I wished he'd try a little bit more to sympathize with me or offer advice. One time, I even caught him watching a football game over my shoulder while he had me wrapped in his arms. In fact, I almost had my head popped off when he tensed up so much during the final play of the game. He thought he was doing something so good, though, so I didn't have the heart to ask for more.

I patted his back and pulled away. "I guess I'll get used to...for Nessie."

He smiled and nodded, then looked me over. "What happened? You're all wet."

"Yeah. There's about 3 feet of snow piled up out there and it's started to melt, so the slush is just fantastic."

"Oh. Did you hunt?"

"Look at me! Does it look like I hunted?" I asked, getting annoyed.

"Well, I don't know. You're not messy when you hunt, so it's hard to tell."

"I made it about 20 yards before the yard tried to swallow me up. You better change, too, if you're planning on going with me. Those shoes won't cut it," I said, nodding to his mesh tennis shoes.

I stripped down and went to the closet, changing into more weather-resistant pants and pulled on a big puffer jacket. I found some shoes that weren't pumps, which actually kind of suprised me, since I don't remember buying them. They weren't ideal, but at least the heel wouldn't get caught in the mud.

I walked to the window and glanced out, trying to find another route to get to the woods than the one I had just taken. My eyes narrowed at one of the treetops. It was bare - no snow, as if someone had shaken it off just that one tree. The winds would have taken the snow off of all the trees, so it wasn't that. It almost looked like -

"That mutt! I don't know how, but he's here and he's taunting me!" I almost shouted. Emmett jumped again.

"What? Where?" Emmett scrambled to the window and peered out. "I don't see anything."

"No, he's there. Trust me. I smelled something strange earlier when I was out there, and now he's climbing the trees. Probably trying to spy. Jerk."

I left Emmett in the room again, heading outside. If Jacob was out there, I was going to catch him and I was going to kill him before Nessie got here, before Bella could say she was going throw her life away yet again for something so stupid. The sooner we were rid of him the better, but I was the only one smart enough to realize that. Now was my chance, now was - I growled when I stepped outside again. There was just something that gave me the shivers about this place, and it wasn't the cold...and I don't even think it was the dog.


	7. Chapter 7: Emmett

**Emmett**

I glanced at the door every now and then, hoping Rosalie wouldn't be back before I finished unpacking my stuff. I knew she'd be pissed if she had to unpack and put away all of my stuff again. I didn't mean to always get distracted, I just don't care much for boring tasks. With a sigh, I stood up and dumped my clothes on the bed, hoping clearing the bed would motivate me to actually clean up.

I grabbed an armful of hangers and dropped them onto the floor. That must have attracted Alice's attention because she came barging in "Do you need help?" She seemed almost a little too excited.

I rolled my eyes. "No, I'm fine. I'm just putting my clothes away."

Alice eyed my pile and shook her head. "Emmett… no."

She looked at me with pity, like I was incompetent or something. "What? These are the clothes that hang up. It said so on the box!" I lifted the box to show her. I didn't really understand all of these new fashions or clothing styles, but I knew what got hung up and what didn't.

Swiftly she ran to my side and started going through the shirts, pants, ties, and various other articles of clothing. She was mumbling under her breath as she sorted my clothes for me, so I stood back and watched. Suddenly, she was flying back and forth. When there was a spot on the bed I sat down, only to be smacked my Alice. "Back away. You'll knock the piles over!"

I jumped up and backed away, heading to the door. "Fine, fine. Just don't touch Rosalie's stuff or she'll have my head for letting you near the closet." I don't think she heard a word of what I said. Rosalie can't say I didn't try, but we all knew when Alice got her hand on clothes, there was no stopping her.

I ran down the stairs and outside, looking for Rosalie. I slowed when I smelled something odd. It was a familiar scent, but I couldn't quite figure it out. Maybe Rose was hunting nearby; that had to be it. I tried to follow the scent, but it seemed to dart around the woods, from tree to rock to tree to ground. I stopped when I could tell Rosalie was close. Whatever that smell was, it'd have to wait. When I found Rosalie, she was hunting. She was so fucking sexy when she hunted.

I waited as long as I could before running up from behind her and grabbing her. She let out a scream that actually freaked me out. She actually seemed scared. I carefully set her down. "Babe, it's me."

She turned and smacked my arm. "I thought you were the mutt! He keeps doing things to mess with my head."

I looked around, confused, then looked back at her. "You mean the tree with no snow? That happens sometimes I think." I spoke, so sure of myself, but I really didn't know. I just didn't want her worrying.

She didn't say anything, but seemed to think about other possibilities. After waiting for as long as I could – maybe all of 10 seconds – I grabbed her again. "Come on. The bed should be cleaned off by now and nobody's broken it in yet."

She started to giggle, but abruptly stopped. "What do you mean 'should be?'"

Shit. Fuck. Damn. "I meant is definitely cleaned off by now… because I cleaned it…" She would totally buy that.

"Emmett, is Alice in my closet?" She asked carefully, as if the answer could be the difference between life and death.

I wanted to be serious, but I couldn't help the grin creeping across my face. I tried to speak with the same careful tone she had. "If Alice is in your closet… maybe you two should come out… together." I was grinning ear-to-ear by this point. "I'll watch."

There was a pause and then a crack as Rosalie smacked my back. I flinched. "Damn, babe!"

"This is serious, Emmett! I hate moving and you had to go and let Alice make this worse? Let me down." She struggled in my grasp. I just wasn't ready to put her down yet. She was mine. I just could only hope Alice wasn't still in our room.


	8. Chapter 8: Rosalie

**Rosalie**

Oh, no, he didn't. He thought he was being cute. He thought he'd just smile and kiss me and that would make it all better. He thought he'd take me up to our room and we'd just go at it while my closet was being raided by Tinkerbell. Well, I had news for him: it wasn't going to happen. He was going to have to wait until I rearranged everything back to the way I wanted it, _and_ he was going to have to unpack his own stuff. Then, and only then, would he be getting any. He always did this. He never helped out and then just expected me to be fine with – He cut off my inner dialogue with a kiss.

"Utuh!" I protested, squirming again. "Put me down. I have to go save what's left of my closet."

If I knew Alice, she was seizing this opportunity to throw out clothes that she didn't like, even if they belonged to me. Some of my clothes were what she called "too vintagey", which meant she didn't believe they belonged in the world today. But I liked those sorts of thing sometimes; they reminded me of my human life. I couldn't help it if I remembered my life before I was a vampire and she couldn't remember what happened a week ago. Sure, she knew what was going to happen in a couple of days, but what good was that when it came to sentimental value? Plus, my clothes were super classy and I looked hot.

"I swear, if she tries to throw out that purple blouse with the lace one more time..." I said, starting to growl. I could feel Emmett's arms tighten around me.

"She wouldn't throw that shirt away," he said, clearly confused. "It's a good...shirt."

"Don't you want to hunt first?" I said, desperately wanting him to put me down now. I'd never tell him, but sometimes his bear hugs hurt.

"Oh, right," he said and halfway dropped me, halfway set me on the ground. "I'll be quick, though. And then we're breaking in that bed, okay?" He gave me a bit of a pouty face mixed with a cocky grin. "Promise?"

"Fine," I agreed with a sigh and a smile. It was no use fighting him. Plus, first sex at a new house was always fun, espeically since Nessie wouldn't be there and we could be as loud as we wanted. It'd be a fine payback to Alice for messing with my clothes, too.

I watched Emmett turn and dart off to the left. I took a deep breath and caught the scent of elk nearby, which is what he must be after. They tasted different from the deer and mountain lions that sustained us in Forks. It wasn't necessarily a bad taste, just different. Forks really had started to feel like an actual, permanent home, and we'd gotten used to everything there. I didn't like to move. I liked to have a home and a town and feel like I belonged some place. I knew Emmett enjoyed exploring new places and everything, but traveling had lost its appeal to me, especially since we never traveled anywhere nice. It was always cold and always gray and our sole purpose was to make the humans believe we were one of them...and I truely wished that we were.

I started to walk after Emmett, but something stopped me. A tingling ran up my neck and I quickly turned to scan the area. There was no one there. I shook my head, clearing it, and turned back around to follow Emmett when my eyes fell on something - footprints. There was a set of human footprints that wound around the area in a crazy way. There was no rhyme or reason for the steps, they were just everywhere. I beant down to examine them closer. They certainly weren't mine. They looked too big for a female's foot. Maybe they were Emmett's, but I'd never seen him run around in such a chaotic way before.

Crack! A twig snapped somewhere behind me and jumped up, spinning on my heel.

"Jacob?" I said, trying to hide the shaking in my voice. "Is that you? This isn't funny anymore." There was no reply. I took a step in the direction the noise came from. "Answer me!"

Another twig snapped in the distance. I thought I saw a fox scurry that way earlier, but I didn't care. This place was just freaky and I didn't like it.

"Emmett!" I screamed and ran toward him in a panic.

"Babe? What is it?" he shouted and quickly closed the distance, scooping me up into his arms. "What happened?"

"I don't know, I don't know. I just don't like it here. There were footprints and a noise and I don't know if it was that fox or Jacob or what, but I just get the creeps being out here." I hugged him closer.

"Oh. Well, it was probably just an moose or something," he shrugged. "And I make footprints, and so do you." He looked down at his feet as if he were making sure that he did, in fact, make footprints in the snow.

"They weren't mine. The were like...boots or something," I said, unconvinced.

"Then they're mine. Come on. I'll show you. Which way?" he said, and I pointed him in the direction of the small clearing.

The wind was kicking up again and snow was flying everywhere. If this was a normal day, I don't know how we were going to be expected to live here. Once he'd carried me to the clearing, he sat me down. I immediately walked over to where the footprints were and nodded to the ground.

"Here. Come measure your boot with these." I bent down to get a closer look and that's when I realized they were gone. I stood up quickly and searched the area. It was like the whole place was covered in a fresh blanket of snow. "Damn it! The wind must have smoothed them out."

Emmett walked over, looking concerned. "Well, they were mine, anyway, I'm sure. Let's just go back to the house. You've got a promise to keep." He put his arm around me and smiled.


	9. Chapter 9: Emmett

**Emmett**

I was running to the house, Rosalie right behind me. I was sure she was going to run ahead to check her closet, but whatever she saw in the woods had really freaked her out. I'm sure the footprints were mine, but even if they weren't, I don't know why she would be so upset about them. It had to have been a lost human running around, or maybe Jasper went hunting earlier and she missed it.

I took her hand when we got to the house and walked inside. I wanted to blindfold her before going into our room, but I knew she wouldn't allow that. I could only hope Alice was nowhere to be seen and Rosalie would forget everything until after. I kissed her cheek as I started up the stairs, almost dragging her behind me.

"Babe, I'm coming. Slow down." She tried to sound serious, but I could hear a soft giggle. I couldn't help but grin; she was excited. When we got to our room I grabbed her and pulled her close. I ripped her shirt off as I kissed her. She didn't protest.

I started dragging her to the bed, trying to keep her as close to me as possible, our lips never breaking apart. Once we hit the bed nothing else mattered. I knew she would forget about unpacking and her closet, at least for a little bit. Our bodies seemed to tangle together. The sound of the headboard beating against the wall sounded like nothing more than a distance beat for us to keep up with.

When it was over we laid next to each other on the bed. I turned my head to look at her, smiling widely. "I love you."

She looked at me, smiling softly. "I love you, too."

I rolled over top of her and kissed her chin. "Of course you do. If you didn't that would have been really awkward."

I started laughing when she slapped my chest. "Emmett!" I could see the smile creeping up from the corner of her lips.

Leaning down I kissed the base of her neck. "You love me so much."

Quickly she slid out from under me, heading to the closet. "I'm getting dressed, and this closet better not be in disarray or I will hunt someone down!" The last part she yelled as she looked at our door.

I shook my head, laughing. "If it is, I'll take Alice out back and teach her a lesson." With that, Rosalie entered the closet. I watched for a moment, trying to gage how bad the situation was. When Rosalie let out a loud huff, I turned and went into the bathroom to take a quick shower (or maybe this one should be long).

"Babe, this would be so much better with you." I called out, mostly to see if she was actually paying attention. When I got no response I quickly finished up and walked back out, drying myself off with a towel.

I started opening drawers, trying to find my clothes. The first three were filled with makeup and other stuff that I didn't really understand. Finally I found my boxers and pants. I searched through the drawer, pulling out a pair of each and quickly got dressed. I tried to shove the extra clothes back in, but they didn't fit anymore. I never understood how that happened. Shrugging, I shoved the drawer back in, loose clothes hanging out. The same happened when I pulled out a shirt.

"Babe, the house is on fire." I glanced in the closet as I spoke, only to see her steadily fixing the placement of her clothes.

With a grin, I tried one more thing. "Jake just got here. Nessie's riding on his back." She all but knocked me over as she rushed out of the room. I started laughing, listening to her run down the stairs and outside. She was going to kill me.


	10. Chapter 10: Penny

**Penny**

Boone had tore out of the room when he heard Chuck leave. It was like he was a little puppy following after his owner, except he wasn't going out of love or loyalty; he wanted to make sure Chuck wasn't doing anything fun like binge drinking without him. I started out after the both of them, but a loud crash downstairs stopped me. With the two of them gone, nothing was standing in my way. I could take over this army and rule whereever-the-fuck-ville we were without any competition.

I slammed the door and tried to lock it, but the lock had been broken long ago, either by us or because the condemned shack we called home was abandaned like a million years ago. Still, the idiots downstairs didn't seem to mind it. Actually, it seemed that even though everything in here was a piece of shit, they still managed to find things to break. The windows, the old furniture, the brickwork, each other – they didn't care as long as they were destroying _something_. I'm sure they were starved, or at least I hoped they were since I was, and I got to drink a lot more than they did. Chuck acted like he was above everybody else and most everyone agreed with that, but he was scared of me, so he treated me better than everybody else. That meant I actually got to go out hunting with him. If I wasn't one of the "elites", I would have taken my leave months ago.

I kicked the door open to the cellar and walked down to see the beginning of a fight between three of the male vampires. I didn't know when they had gotten here or what their names were, nor did I care, but I didn't want them killing each other. The less vampires that were alive down here, the less in my army. When the black haired one and the brown haired one started ganging up on the blond, I stepped in right before his head was ripped off.

"Shut up and sit down!" I screamed, shoving at the black haired one. "Stop fighting! I'm in charge now!"

My voice was high-pitched, loud, and terrifying. I grinned at how awesome I sounded. When I was a human, people made fun of how quiet I was, but now that I was a fucking winner of life, everybody gave me the respect that I finally deserved. Also, I quite liked going back to find those people who bullied me when I was a human, showing them just how wrong they were about me, then draining them completely. Then, I'd drink their families for good measure. 'Don't leave any witnesses.' That's what Chuck always said. I was happy to oblige.

I was going to like being in charge. Of course, what I was going to do with the twenty or so crazy-ass newborns who were strewn about the basement, I didn't know, but I'd think of something. Chuck said he was going to take over the town with them, whatever that meant. He was wrong, though. I was going to do that (whatever it was), not him. I guess he meant he was going to keep all the other vampires out, like the Voltinglers or whatever they were called, and live here forever. Who the fuck would want to live here forever, though? And what other vampires would want to come here? This place sucked. I had lost track of exactly where we are, but it was full of snow and the people tasted like they lived miserable lives. I didn't understand why we couldn't live in Vegas. I bet people tasted delicious there, and you'd probably get a buzz off of them.

'Stop. Get back to the matter at hand, Penny,' I told myself. 'Stop thinking in those terms. Chuck's not in charge. You're just letting him think he is so he doesn't tell the others to kill you. They're too dumb just yet to disobey him.'

My eyes focused back on reality when I heard a loud growl. The black haired newborn had shoved the blond to the floor and was stepping on his face to make his way over to me. I could tell that look in his eye; he wanted to fuck me, and I couldn't blame him. I took his lead and ran with it. "If the three of you stop right now, I'll let you all fuck me. Then, we're leaving this place and you'll be my army then, got it?"

It wasn't that I was particularly horny, but this was a win-win-win situation for me: it would stop the fight, it always felt great, and it would bug the shit out of Boone. I took my shirt off to get them started and immediately felt three sets of hands grab me. A lesser vampire would have been scared she'd be ripped apart, but if they started, I could just burn their asses til they stopped, so it wouldn't be a problem. Plus, I liked it a little rough, so I just laid back and let them have their way with me.

Right in the middle of switching positions, I heard someone come back in upstairs. I hoped it was Boone. For one, I wanted him to see me like this; two, if Chuck was back, it would totally ruin my plans of a coup. There was another slam and yelling started upstairs. Shit. They were both back. I guess I'd have to wait for another chance to take over. I had time, though, I supposed, being immortal and all. The sheer awesomeness of it caused me to start laughing out loud manically to myself while the three idiot newborns continued doing their thing.


	11. Chapter 11: Boone

**Boone**

I'm ignoring Chuck. He's just yelling at me because he wanted to have all the fun to himself. Where's Penny? Where the fuck is Penny? He doesn't like it when I follow him, but I did. I always do. I can't let him hunt without me. Except when I have to stay and watch the army. He doesn't like that because we usually lose a few members when that happens. Where the fuck is Penny!? Chuck stopped yelling and was just staring at me. He knew I wasn't listening. When was I ever listening to him? No, I listen to him. I listen to him when he tells me to do things because I can't always control myself. I want him to tell me what to do. When I don't know what to do… I don't know what to do. Penny tells me what to do, too. I don't like to listen. No, I like to listen. I like to listen to her tell me what to do.

"Where's Penny?" Did I say that? No, Chuck said it.

"How the hell should I know? I was out there with you!" I can't keep track of her. I want to. No, I don't. I like her games. I like to find her and take her on the spot.

Chuck grabbed me and shoved me against the wall. I let him. I always let him. "You shouldn't have been! Find her!"

I think he's mad because new vampires moved in too close to us. I wanted a closer look, but that's when Chuck realized I was out there with him. He wouldn't let me. I wouldn't have let me go if I wasn't me either, maybe. I growled and smacked my head a few times. "Stop it!" I didn't mean to yell that.

Chuck let me go. He knew what was going on. He should have known what to expect from me. He tried to start this army by gathering crazy people. People other people wouldn't miss. I was the first and only survivor. Over time I killed the others. Chuck realized it was a mistake. I was the only sane one of the group. No. I was just the only one who'd listen to him. When he told me to kill them, I did. I killed all of them. I'll kill anyone. Killing doesn't matter; dying doesn't matter. I just won't do it because this life is too much fun. I won't kill Penny either. Where is she?

I heard a commotion downstairs. Suddenly I knew. I don't know how I knew, but I knew. "She's downstairs. I'll fuck her."

I ran through the basement door and down the stairs. It was then that I saw the three newborns all fighting their way to get on top of Penny. I let out a strong growl and they looked at me, rage filling their eyes. Rage isn't a thing. It can't fill eyes. Only tears can fill eyes. Tears and blood. "I want to rip your eyes out."

Two of them backed up. They realized who I was. The black-haired one didn't. He's new, he doesn't know me. He doesn't know that I always keep my word. I don't lie. I could feel a smirk creeping over my lips. Smirks don't creep. They just happen. It just happened. He didn't seem to like that. He was a big guy. He looked like he could eat me. I heard myself laugh. That was a funny joke. He couldn't eat me. I'd rip his head off before he had the chance.

He charged at me anyway. I was in the air and landing on his shoulders before I knew what was going on. I tore out his eyes and jumped off.

Chuck must have heard us because he came running down the stairs. "What the hell did you do? Put them back!"

I walked to the black-haired guy and placed his eyes in his hands. "These are yours. She's mine." I pointed at Penny, but then realized that he couldn't see. I'm fucking funny. I held onto his shoulder as I laughed. He didn't move. Of course he didn't move. "I'd rip your face off if you moved." Oh, that was out loud. That's ok because he still wasn't moving. He was smarter than he looked.

* * *

**Stacy and I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who has read, favorited (is that a word?), and followed this story. This is an idea we've had for quite some time and are happy to be able to share it with all of you.**

**In case you were interested, the breakdown of author/characters is:**

**Stacy: Rosalie, Penny**

**Emily: Emmett, Chuck, Boone**

**We hope to continue to update quickly so you aren't waiting for too long. Currently we've been sticking with a chapter about every day or every other day. We are trying to continue this, but with the end of the semester coming up, I'm going to be getting a little busier. I'm hoping this wont slow me down too much, but if it does, just bare with me for a bit. I'll be able to pick it back up during break. Stupid Stacy's done with school, so she doesn't have this problem.**

**Stacy told me to change stupid to awesome, but I'm not gonna.**


	12. Chapter 12: Penny

**Penny**

I laughed harder, taking it all in. Boone was insane and hot and for some reason Chuck let him be second in command. I wanted to be second in command, so I had to fuck Boone, right? No. I wanted to be first in command, so I needed to fuck Chuck, but he wasn't hot like Boone. Maybe fucking Boone would work just as well. Probaby not. Well, at least it'd be more fun.

What was all the yelling about between them? Where had they gone? And why didn't they bring me back anything to drink? My throat was killing me. I growled.

"Hey! Stop screwing around! Where did you go?" I screamed, standing up.

A few of the younger vampires were creeping further away from the commotion. Bunch of babies. The black-haired one just stood there in shock, his eyes still in his hand. I had to admit, that was pretty funny, and new. We'd had limbs ripped off before, but eyes? Genius.

"I had to follow Chuck because I needed to!" Boone screamed back. "Why the fuck was the fucking happening? I'll fuck you."

He started his way over to me, but he seemed mad, or maybe not. Who could tell? He always had that crazed look in his eyes like he was going to rip me apart, or maybe rip himself apart. I wished I knew what was going on in his brain, but it was hard enough trying to keep my brain straight.

"Why were you following him? Did he tell you to? What did you do? Was it a secret? Tell me," I said, my brain catching up with the information I had been given and coming to the conclusion that they were plotting behind my back.

How dare they do this to me! Scheming behind someone's back was just plain rude. What would they plan, though? Maybe they fed. No, they wouldn't. Feeding without me was ruder that all the plotting they were already doing. Unless they did both. Bastards! I'll burn them both until they're dead and who cares what the newborns do after that. I could feel Boone's hands running over my body and I reconsidered. Maybe I'd just burn Chuck to death. Fuck Boone and burn Chuck: that sounded like a simple enough plan for me. Chuck would be dead and Boone would be too crazy to realize he would be Chuck's successor, leaving me in charge. Perfect plan.

I grabbed Boone's wrist and pulled him upstairs. I didn't like it down here. It smelled too much like grossness and Chuck had apparently decided to stay upstairs. I wanted to find out what they were doing without me before anything else happened, and Boone sure wasn't good for much information. Even if he actually knew something, he couldn't process it himself, moreover explain it to someone else. I slammed Boone down on the long wooden table in the front room and climbed on top of him, pinning him down by his shoulders. I looked around and spotted Chuck pacing inside the next room, his eyes angry.

"Hey! Where did you go? Why did Boone get to go and not me?"

I suddenly felt very disappointed and I desparately wanted Chuck to like me better. I wanted him to pick me over everyone else to be his second in command and to tell all of his secrets to me. He was like a father to me. Was he my father? Maybe. I couldn't remember. No. He made me a vampire, but my father had different colored hair, I think. It was hard to remember what I was before I was a vampire. Was I something before a vampire? My head started to hurt. No, it wasn't hurting so much as it was confused.

Chuck had stopped pacing and was looking at me. "We have a problem," he said, his brow furrowing. "And we're not ready."

"Yes, we are," I said defensively. "We can do it." I needed Chuck to believe in me.

"You two can't stop screwing around lond enough to get anything done and the army isn't disciplined because of it. We're going to have to buckle down and train harder."

"We are. We can. I can do it," I got off Boone and raced over to Chuck.

"You don't even know what I'm talking about," he said, looking me over. "Where are your clothes?"

Oh. I got it. I could do this. He was jealous, right? Surely that's what it was. I smiled, starting to laugh my hyena-esqe laugh as I dropped to me knees. I unzipped Chuck's pants and went to work. He didn't stop me, but he also wasn't saying anything. It was like he had something more important on his mind. We could do it, whatever he wanted. We were ready. Maybe. Well, I was. Ugh! Why wouldn't he tell me? I started growling.

I paused for a moment and looked up at him. "If you don't tell me what's going on, I'm going to stop!"


	13. Chapter 13: Chuck

**Chuck**

I was growing tired of these games. I needed Boone and Penny to start taking this life seriously if we were ever going to do something about the new vampires. My army definitely had them outnumbered, but they're still a mess. Boone just fucking blinded one only a few minutes ago!

Though, I did like it when Penny acted like this. She was so much better than this, but if she didn't realize that, I wasn't about to tell her. I couldn't tell if she was jealous, of if this is just how she thought things worked… well, they kinda did. "Fine. Just listen because I need you." I knew those words would get to her. That's what she wanted; she wanted to feel in charge. I could tell.

"We need to get the army organized or else we might all get killed. A group of vampires moved in not too far from here. They could find us and take us out." I didn't mean to be so dramatic, but learning that there was a group of vampires so close had me on edge. All of my dreams getting destroyed before I even had time to make them. I could feel a growl emerge from my throat just thinking about it. I stepped back and zipped my pants back up. I wasn't in the mood.

Boone seemed to take that as an invite and he dove over, knocking into Penny. "Fuck, Boone! We're trying to have a serious conversation!" He was in another world; Penny's world. Penny's world scared me a little. I might be able to take one or the other, but the two of them together would be a deadly combination. Yet, the Boone separated from Penny is also very deadly. There's just never any middle ground with these two psychos.

He seemed to understand. It was like everything clicked at once and suddenly he was the Boone I needed. He stood up and was staring at me, just waiting for some sort of direction. "Get down there and put that vampire's eyes back in. Then, without killing anyone, scare them and get them to shut up. They need to start following—" Before I could finish he was gone. I listened, hoping that he'd actually do what I asked.

I was almost shocked when he came up without any extra limbs… or eyes… or ears… or anything that wasn't his own. A grin spread across my face. He was getting it. Now I just needed Penny to get it. I looked at her. "Penny. I need you." It was the only thing I could think to say. I couldn't yell at and beat her until she snapped out of her psychotic thoughts like I did with Boone. Penny was different. She just needed to understand.


	14. Chapter 14: Penny

**Penny**

"You need me," I said aloud in confirmation. I let that thought sink in for a moment. "Chuck needs me. The army needs me." I nodded. It was true.

I jumped up quickly and looked around the room for some clothes. There was nothing, of course. All the clothes that I had here had been ripped to shreds and Chuck didn't exactly take us all out shopping.

"I'll be back!" I screamed and ran out the door.

I would have to cover up if the newborns were even going to have a slight chance of paying attention to me, not that I blamed them. I would want me, too. Just a few hundred feet from the house there was a large burnt circle with a big pile of ash in the middle. It was still smoudlering a little. This is where we burned the humans, the ones that we fed from. It was Boone's job to get rid of the evidence and he liked fire, so this was the solution. Personally, I don't think Chuck liked it. He always complained about it being suspicious for there to be smoke coming from the middle of the woods, but I think he was just jealous he didn't think of it. He would probably have them dumped in the lake or burried, but that was too much work since the ground was frozen and the lake was like a million miles away.

I walked up to the edge of fire pit, the melted snow pooling at my feet and glared, scanning the nearby forest. There was bound to be some clothes that were ripped off nearby, some that didn't make it into the fire. Luckily, the newborns were not very private when it came to their desires, so I didn't have to look far. In fact, the woman whose clothes I was going to take was still wearing them. There were bite marks all over her and the snow was stained red around her. I laughed. I don't know why, but I wanted to tell Chuck about this, to get Boone in trouble. I wanted to be his favorite, and this gave me more fuel. I quickly took the dress and put it on. It kind of fit, I guess. Whatever. It would have to do.

I ran back inside and stopped in front of Chuck. I wanted him to see that I could do this, that he was right, that he needed me.

"Great, you're dressed," he said in what I assumed was a pleasureable tone, though with Chuck sometimes it was hard to tell. "Go downstairs and start getting the army ready for battle. They need disclipline."

"Yes, sir!" I screamed and shoved Boone aside as I ran downstairs.

"Shut up, all of you! I hate you all and if you don't listen to me, Boone's going to come down here and rip you all to pieces!" My voice was so loud it hurt even my ears. But, at least, I had their attention.

There was a few stragglers, as always, that were hiding behind what was left of the furniture. I walked over and threw them into the middle of the room. They had formed a sort of line out of instinct, I guess, or maybe I had taught them that before. It was kind of useful; it showed they at least had some sort of obedience in them. I paced up and down in front of them as I gave my speech.

"You are going to stop fucking around. You're going to stop fighting each other and fucking each other and disobeying me. You're going to practice war stuff with Boone and you're going to fight in an army for Chuck. You're going to win. You have to win." I stared them each down one by one until I'm sure everyone in the room felt incredibly uncomfortable.

"Chuck needs me," I concluded and headed back upstairs to tell Boone to take over.


	15. Chapter 15: Chuck

**Chuck**

I knew it would work. Both Penny and Boone seemed ready to actually work. Part of me felt that I was rushing things too much. Our new neighbors could be nothing more than a couple of old vampires that would never suspect an army… but that didn't seem right. My instincts were usually correct and right now I suspected a group of vampires that were ready for us. I remember the number of times I doubted my decision to keep Boone alive. I feared that I only kept him alive because I was afraid of what would happened if I tried to kill him and failed. Right now I was sure keeping him alive was the best decision, just as I'm sure we need to be prepared for this new group near us.

With the army getting ready, I needed a plan. Do we wipe them out or keep a few alive. I'd love to know what their strengths were. If Penny has a power, perhaps one of them had a power. I want the army ready, but maybe we should stall. I watched Penny come back upstairs and order Boone to watch them. Boone bolted down. Sometimes he looked like a ghost… or skeleton. He was skinny and pale – even pale for a vampire. His light hair made his red eyes stand out. Humans fear him on sight… some of our newborns were afraid of him from the first look. He really looked demonic; but that look suited him.

Penny was another story. She almost looked too innocent. Though, that seems to suite her, too. She takes a lot of the newborns by surprise. Maybe she can do the same with our neighbors. "Penny, we need to know what we're up against. Boone has no self-control for spying, but you…"

I grinned as I looked her over. She could protect herself if something happened, but she might be the best option for getting close. "I want to know what we're fighting, and I want to know if there are any worth keeping." With her in charge of that decision, I'm sure we wont be keeping any of the women, so I can only hope it's the men with the powers.

I turned and glanced out the window. I was sure she'd have something to say about this, but it didn't matter. This was going to be our chance to prove we could last; our chance to prove our army could survive. We are going to do things my way and we are going to win.


	16. Chapter 16: Rosalie

**Rosalie**

As soon as I heard Emmett mention Nessie and Jacob in the same sentence, I ran downstairs and out toward the garage. The mutt had been messing with me in the woods earlier, I was sure of it. I was also positive that I was furious about it. After I got through with him, there'd be nothing but an outline of ashes in the backyard. When I reached the driveway, however, I didn't see anyone. The garage door was still open and neither Bella nor Edward's cars were in there. Surely they wouldn't have let the dog carry that precious baby here – out in the elements and everything! I growled involuntarily, but if it hadn't have come out, I would definitely have volunteered it to.

"Nessie!" I yelled, walking around to the back of the house. "Nessie, sweetie, where are you?"

There was no answer.

I growled again. "Jacob!" I screamed, my voice hitting a pitch I wasn't even sure was registerable. He was a mangy fleabag, though, and they were supposed to be great at hearing high-pitched sounds, right? I smiled at the thought of investing in a dog whistle.

Again, though, there was no answer. I stomped a few feet away from the house and looked up at mine and Emmett's window. "Hey! Did you really see Nessie?"

Emmett's face appeared in the window and I could see him laughing. Jerk. I clenched my jaw. This wasn't funny. This place was awful and he wasn't helping matters by teasing me about things like this. I bent down, scooped up a snowball, and threw it at the window. He laughed again and shook his head before disappearing back into the room. Oh, he was so getting it – well, actually, no – he wasn't going to get _any_. That would teach him.

I headed back to the house but paused with my hand on the doorknob. I could feel a tingle on the back of my neck, as if someone were watching me. I spun around quickly. There was no one there. Well, no one that I could see, anyway. No, there was definitely something off about all of this. I ran into the woods as fast as I could, determined to catch whatever or whoever it was. The smell from earlier was back again, bloody and rotten. I kept running for a few moments, the scent getting stronger with each step until I came across a pair of deer pawing at a frozen stream. The blood smell was causing my throat to burn, so I seized the opportunity and took one of them down to feed on. It wasn't until my teeth were firmly in its neck that I realized what I had done; self-preservation had just taken over. I was good with my control around human blood and was used to fighting off the instinct to kill and replacing it with the instinct to hunt animals.

Once I was through drinking, the scent had subsided and I actually wasn't even sure which direction I had been running. I started walking along the edge of the stream, hoping to find a clue. I was just about to give up, when I spotted a set of footprints that appeared to belong to someone who had leaped across the creek. Determined, I did the same, and ran along beside them for a few hundred yards before they suddenly disappeared. I jerked my head around this way and that, then looked back down at the footprints. They were small, feminine. I scratched my head, searching the surrounding area for any other signs. I supposed they could have been mine. The blood smell was driving me a little crazy earlier and I did get confused. Maybe they were mine, but why would they all of a sudden have stopped here? I sighed, looking around yet again, but seeing nothing. Maybe I was just being paranoid. Everyone would tell me that, anyway.

I leaned against a large maple tree for a moment and let the wave of unhappiness wash over me. This place was literally the worst place we'd ever been. The time Carlisle thought that Michigan was actually a state where people should live was looking quite inspired at this moment. I briefly thought about doing something extreme to get us out of this place as quickly as possible, but of course I'd never risk my family's lives for that. It was a good thought, though. After a couple of minutes in silence, I shoved off the tree and walked back toward the house, not noticing the pair of dark red eyes watching me from high in the branches.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"I swear there's something going on in those woods. It smells like human blood all of the time and there were more footprints."

I had busied myself again with the arduous task of rearranging my closet in exactly the way I knew Alice wouldn't have. I figured Emmett was going to call me crazy, tell me that there was nothing sinister hiding in the forest, and to just calm down, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

He smiled that big goofy smile of his and walked over to me, rubbing my arm. "There's nothing out to get you. They wouldn't dare."

"Yeah, but why do I get the creeps out there?" I asked, still unconvinced.

"You were probably just mad about the whole Jacob thing and weren't thinking straight," he answered, then immediately I saw the regret in his eyes. He knew he shouldn't have brought that up again.

"You're right. About that-" I began, but he leaned in and kissed me into silence.

"You know what?" he said, moving toward the door in a hurry. "I'll just go check in the woods to make you feel better, okay? Okay." And with that, he was out of the room and down the stairs before I knew it.

"Okay, but we're going to talk about 'the whole Jacob thing' when you get back!" I called after him.

I heard a groan and the back door crack as it slammed behind him.


End file.
